About Michael Volkwijn — Hybrid Creative | Content, UX & Visual Designer | Photographer
Hi, I’m Michael
I’m a Toronto-based Hybrid Creative, Content, UX & Visual Designer, and Photographer with 10+ years of experience helping organizations communicate clearly through content, digital experiences, visual systems, and visual storytelling.
My creative career began with photography and grew into a broader practice spanning content design, UX and product design, brand identity, visual systems, websites, typography, and photography. Rather than working within a single discipline, I move between connected creative practices—bringing together strategy, structure, design, and visual storytelling to solve communication challenges.
That is what being a Hybrid Creative means to me: understanding the bigger picture while being able to move from strategy and concepting into hands-on execution.
I think about how information is structured, how people move through an experience, how visual systems can scale, and what the work needs to accomplish. Whether I’m designing an enterprise SaaS workflow, structuring visual content, developing a brand identity, creating a website, or documenting a conference through photography, I focus on making ideas clearer and experiences more engaging.
What I Do
Content Design & Visual Communication
I structure information and create visual content that makes complex ideas easier to understand, engage with, and share.
My work includes visual communication, content structure, training and informational materials, digital content systems, and design-led approaches to making information clearer.
UX & Product Design
I design digital interfaces, workflows, and product experiences that help people navigate information and complete tasks with greater clarity.
My experience includes user journeys, information architecture, service touchpoints, wireframes, interface design, design systems, and enterprise SaaS experiences.
Brand Identity & Visual Systems
I create identities, visual languages, and scalable design systems that help organizations communicate consistently across digital and physical touchpoints.
Web & Digital Design
I design responsive websites and digital experiences that balance usability, accessibility, visual communication, and storytelling.
Typography & Lettering
I explore typography and lettering as tools for visual communication, from personal explorations and long-term creative practices to commissioned work and exhibition projects.
Photography
I create visual stories for conferences, corporate and brand events, activations, concerts, live performances, portraits, weddings, and architectural spaces.
My photography focuses on capturing authentic moments, people, atmosphere, and the details that make an experience memorable.
My Approach
My work combines creativity with systems thinking.
I start by understanding what needs to be communicated, who needs to understand it, and what the experience needs to accomplish. From there, I move between strategy and hands-on execution—shaping the structure, content, visual language, and details that help the work connect.
I’m interested in the space between disciplines.
A strong digital experience needs more than visual polish. A brand needs more than a logo. Content needs more than information. Photography needs more than simply capturing a moment.
The strongest work connects the pieces.
Whether I’m mapping a user journey, developing a visual system, structuring content, designing an interface, exploring letterforms, or documenting an event, I aim to create work that is clear, thoughtful, and engaging.
Outside the Studio
Outside of design and photography, I enjoy:
- Singing in my church choir
- Gaming and watching anime
- Exploring creative communities such as VRChat
- Contributing to the One Piece D&D Podcast, where I help track and document our campaign
Quick Info
Location
Toronto, Canada
Experience
10+ years
Focus
Content Design & Visual Communication
UX & Product Design
Brand Systems
Web & Digital Design
Typography & Lettering
Photography
Tools
Figma
WordPress
Webflow
Adobe Creative Cloud
Lightroom
Illustrator
Photoshop
After Effects
Premiere Pro
Tailwind CSS
HTML/CSS
DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras
Studio Lighting
Selected Experience & Highlights
- 10+ years of experience across content design, UX and product design, visual design, branding, digital experiences, typography, and photography
- Created and structured 40+ internal training visuals for Toyota Canada, improving onboarding clarity and enabling translation-ready delivery
- Redesigned enterprise communication platform experiences and service workflows for TouchLogic, supporting a ~50% increase in post-launch engagement
- Created brand identities and visual systems for startups, organizations, and creative communities
- Designed responsive websites and digital experiences using UX principles and user-centred design
- Photographed conferences, live music performances, brand activations, portraits, weddings, and architectural spaces across Toronto
- Developed typography and lettering work through personal and commissioned projects
- Featured work in the Swash & Serif 7 typography exhibition
Social Media
Let’s Work Together
If you're looking for a Hybrid Creative who combines content thinking, UX strategy, visual craft, and thoughtful storytelling, I’d be happy to connect.
Recent Work & Visual Stories
A look at recent photography, design projects, creative events, and visual explorations from my ongoing practice.
@makv25